Chapter 4
I ended up falling asleep. And I woke up in a tree house and...wait? WHAT! I thrusted myself up and looked around me. There were weird objects hanging from the ceiling, many potions and bottles all organized perfectly on oak wood shelves that I assume were made by "hand". I walked out of the room that I was in into a larger circular room with a cordon in the center filled with a green liquid within, I could feel the heat omitting overtop from it as i waved my hoof over it. I heard the front door open and I quickly hid behind the cordon and prayed to Celestia that who ever came through the door wasn't going to see me, but sadly that prayer wasn't answered when i heard a female voice say "oh look who is up and awake, you should lay back down for your own good sake." Haha, that's weird it rhymed.
I went ahead and asked how I got there and who she is.
"I found you sleeping on the ground, I knew that you were hurt based on your sound"
Ok? another rhyme.
"I'm trying to make a drink, to help you get back in sync." The rhymes are starting to get annoying. Probably because I don't get them.
"Can you please speak normal and who are you"
She stared at me for sometime with much frustration and sighed. "I'm Zecora, I'm a zebra, I was trying to make a potion to make you feel better and restore your strength. I found you passed out and a darkness was surrounding you. It took your shape and I tried to stop it from consuming you but it ran off".
"A shadow of myself?"
"Yes, the Darkness consumes ponies who are unaware of their surroundings and takes their form and seeks to destroy them. They can appear anywhere, it can even be your own shadow and will do anything to harm you, and will not stop till you cease to exist."
I started to freak out. "How am I going to get back to Ponyville if that thing is hunting me down, it can be anywhere."
"Sadly I don't know, how to defeat this dangerous foe"
"How do I know if its near me?"
"If your bones get the chills, then you must hide or get killed. I also may have a potion, to help with this commotion."
She then handed me a bottle and told me to drink it and I did. I felt light headed and my vision became blurred. She said that the spell will last about 2 hours, which is enough time for me to get out of the forest. The potion is supposed to disable the darkness' ability to find me. I thanked her and walked out. She also gave me a map and I was going to head east back to Ponyville, I hoped since I didn't know what direction I was facing. I couldn't use the sun to determine where east is since the trees covered all sunlight basically. After a half an hour of walking I began to hear the growling again and it was way too close for comfort. "FUCK!" Something just bit my leg. I turned around and it was a Timberwolf. I bucked it in the face and began to run. It was barely fazed and quickly started to chase after me. I have to think of something, there has to be a way to trap this thing or at least stall it long enough for me to get away. *tick* "what the..." A giant log came swinging down from two trees just barely clipping my tail but lucky for me it smashed the Timberwolf's face, breaking it into pieces and launching its body a good 50ft. I continued to run until I thought I was far enough away just in case it was still somehow alive. This place is dangerous, no wonder why ponies don't go in here, it's just an area of death and madness. I approached a hill and looked on. I don't see much but hills and plant life, but I did see a city in the distance which now was my objective. Sadly It's been an hour and a half since I left and it will definitely take me about a day to get to the city. Though I had wings, I wasn't good at using them, I forgot how to fly. Plus if I did know I didn't have the stamina for that kind of distance, so the darkness will definitely find me soon. I decided to at least try to fly or glide maybe. I took a few steps back and opened my wings and sprinted. Using the wind I was able to glide over the tree tops and the feeling was amazing. The wind going through my mane, the sound of it blowing by me, and view was unbelievable. Celestia's beautiful sun setting on the horizon of mountains and the valley of trees in between and there was also a oasis with a bright vibrant color of blue and it looked fresh. I began to descend in altitude and I turned myself towards the oasis, since I knew I wasn't going to stay in the air much longer. I aimed myself at the pool of water and planned to crash in it. Yes I don't know how to land either though its so simple. I was gaining way to much speed and frantically flapped my wings against myself but I didn't slow down enough for a smooth landing. I hit the water and then the bottom of the pool. I swam buck up and crawled to the dirty floor of the forest. My body was swelling and the stinging pain that encased my body was horrific. Such a stupid idea. It was near dark and I needed somewhere to sleep. I had enough energy to create a small shelter made out if brush, leaves, twigs, and vine, but a fire was out of the question because it might give away my location to the darkness. I stacked some leaves together in a pile and laid down to rest. "Luna, may thy holy mare of the night protect me from evils that may try to take my life tonight." I then fell asleep.
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Ah fuck ugh...I....I...I can't breath When I opened my eyes a dark mass was standing before me (The darkness that took my form) had his red aura glow coming from his horn. He was choking me.
"You seriously thought that you could escape me, pitiful filly, I'm surprised the storm didn't kill you in the first place, oh such a waste of effort."
He let go of me and I fell to my face and gasped for breath. I tried to stand up but he bucked me in my face to knock me back down.
"Oh please don't get up, nothing you do right now will help you, your Zebra friend isn't here to help you, so I'm going to take my time."
I finally had enough breath to say something.
"Who the fuck are you and why are you after me?"
He had a surprised expression on his face. "What? You don't recognize me, I'm your buddy Septimus. You tried to defeat me many years ago but you look so much younger than I remember. A new body, lucky you and I'm surprised your friends aren't here."
My head hurt and I got white flashes in my eyes of...things.
"What are you? I've never seen you before, how do you know me, and what friends, I don't have any but Twilight."
"My kind is called Dukar or Shadow Demon if you will, and I am their lord, their king. We tried to rule Equestria many centuries ago but were stopped by your kind. We almost eradicated all of your kingdom but some ponies went missing, you for example are one who survived. Oh what was your name, it's been too long, I haven't heard it for a while now what was it hmmm. Ahh yes, Sacred Energy. Platoon Commander of the 211th Winged Division of the Arcadian Army. You really thought you guys would win. And Princess Twilight Sparkle, yes I know her, she is a bit big of a job so we aren't touching her for a while but you, you're easy, you're nothing, no ones knows who you are or what your purpose was."
I was stunned, confused, amazed, sad, happy and... I don't know. It was too much for me to take in.
"Just for my own amusement I'm going to let you live, for now, I want to see if you can escape this forest alive. If you live and reach that city, ill let you live a little longer, but if you fail...well...free entertainment for me. Good Luck." He then teleported away. I didn't sleep for the rest of the night.